The Ministry of Justice intends to allow former convicts to participate in military operations, and amendments to the relevant laws are already being developed. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Justice Olena Vysotska in an interview with Ukrainian Radio.


According to Vysotska, the current legal norm does not currently allow convicts to join the Armed Forces. This applies to both those who are currently serving their sentences and those who were convicted earlier and have already served their sentences.

"They live among us, they are just as afraid, just as worried and just as useful, but unfortunately, they are not registered with the military and cannot help the army in any way," explained the deputy minister.

According to her, at present, territorial recruitment centers refuse to mobilize people with a criminal record. To resolve this issue, legislative changes have been proposed and submitted to the relevant committee.

"These changes are very controversial, because the army should be distracted by such a category of people as ex-convicts or current convicts if they join. If we are having discussions in committees today, I think that January-February is the time when new rules of mobilization will be adopted," Vysotska said.

However, she warned that there are no guarantees that the issue of convicts' participation in the army will be resolved immediately, as this discussion should not interfere with other important changes.

"It is possible that some limited changes will be adopted now, for example, regarding convicts who have already been released from prison several years ago or were convicted of certain crimes," Vysotska said.